This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Devils took 3 of the 4 meetings between the two teams last season.

The big news of the day is that Zubrus will be a scratch tonight, dealing with what’s being called an “Upper Body” injury and Stephan Matteau will suit up for his 6th game meaning that his entry-level contract will now kick in. It has been widely publicized that this is no way guaranteeing that he will stick around just that we are now using year 1 for him.

The Devils Last Game – Beat the Rangers 3-1 thanks to Marty and Clarkson.

The Last Lighning Game – Lost in Philly and in my opinion Vinny L made a HUGE mistake getting into a fight down a goal with only 8 mins remaining. The Lightning are paying him to be on the ice, not in the box.

Tonight’s Game – This game will tell us a lot about the Lightning. They are on their first losing streak of the season and a win tonight could help prove that they are a top team. Lose tonight and they will most likely start to feel the pressure of a 3 game losing streak. Are these guys for real of just a team that had a better start than last season?

Game plan is easy for NJ if they watched the tape from the TB/Philly game. The reason why Philly won was their intense forecheck, both 5 on 5 and when Tampa was on the PP. Tampa has some dangerous weapons but we have the guys to shut those down.

I would really approach this game the same way we did the Rangers. Forecheck, bang some bodies around and get traffic in front.